Bloodbound
by Angelikah
Summary: Klaus has never been the marrying type, but when he was offered the hand of the next veela princess in the Forbes family line in return for a favor, it would have been rude to turn down a gift, especially one with such unique powers. Five hundred years later, the Original hybrid is back to collect. Caroline, said veela princess, is understandably horrified.
1. Chapter 1

This is a very late fic for Luiza's birthday (itsnotacrimetoloveyou on tumblr). It's always harder for me to write for people who I adore, and Luiza definitely falls into that category. You can find her fics under the penname coveredinthecolors.

This has some dark themes, though nothing more intense than my usual in fics (think on par with CoDT in terms of dark). It's also a true crossover, meaning that Klaus is the Original hybrid, but set where the HP world is coexistent with TVD canon.

I hope you like it!

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Caroline picked boredly at her salad, skewering an apple slice and taking a bite as she half-listened to her uncle Kieran as he droned on about how disappointed he was in her cousin Camille for choosing to go to muggle bartending school. It was a lot of effort to resist pointing out that she'd probably make bank in tips because of the thrall. It seemed perfectly practical, to be honest.

"Who's ready for turkey?" her father cut in when Kieran paused for breath, and she heard a sigh of relief from her mother, who had obviously been waiting for the end of the conversation. There was a chorus of affirmatives from around the table and Bill gestured for an elf to bring in the next course.

It was the last family dinner she'd have to endure before she went back to Ilvermorny on Sunday night and she couldn't wait to leave. She knew she should probably feel guilty, but coming back to the castle was always nerve-wracking. At this point, her being the veela princess was mostly old news among her classmates, but the veela visiting or living in Mystic Falls when she was on break never seemed to shed their fascination with the royal family.

She was just cutting her first piece of turkey breast when the large doors leading to the banquet hall opened with a bang, and she nearly dropped her fork in surprise.

"I hate to interrupt what looks to be a most exciting celebration, but I'm afraid I'm a busy man and I have much to do."

The man standing in the doorway was attractive; his sandy curls and dimpled cheeks doing little to distract from the distinct aura of danger radiating off of him in waves. He walked over to the table, pulling an empty chair over and sinking down onto it, his fingers steepled together. "I'm Klaus," he said simply.

Caroline had no idea who he was, though she felt her father's hand suddenly close around her arm as though he was getting ready to disapparate. The man seemed to have noticed the movement too as he paused, staring straight at them.

"I see you've heard of me," he said softly, his eyes sliding from her father to her face, and she felt an odd shock run down her spine.

"Why are you here?" Bill asked, though from the wary look in his eyes, Caroline had an uncomfortable feeling that he already knew.

"I should think that it would be obvious," he said, reaching into his back pocket and producing an ancient-looking piece of parchment. "As promised to me five hundred years ago, give or take a decade, I've come to collect my payment."

There was a small smile twisting his lips as his eyes fell on her. "Now, what's your name, sweetheart?"

Caroline swallowed before speaking, unsure why he wanted to talk to her but unable to suppress the feeling that it was not a good omen. "Caroline," she said, thankful that she could keep her voice even.

"Pretty name for a pretty girl," he said almost absently, his eyes already back on her father. "I'll take her now. I hope you don't mind that I've arrived a bit early. I'm normally polite enough not to intrude, but my witch booked us too early a flight and my brother's commandeered the private jet for some sort of premeditated mass-murder in Portugal, so we'd best be off now or we'll have to compel seats on the next one, and it does get complicated with all the security cameras these days. Come along, Caroline."

"What? Excuse me?" Caroline spluttered, trying to process everything he'd said in the last few sentences and still not quite able to wrap her mind around it, especially considering she didn't actually know why he thought he was taking her anywhere.

"Don't worry, love. I ate her. Difficult to find good help these days, but there's always more where she came from."

"I mean what are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere with you?" Caroline asked before backing up a few words. "Wait, you _ate_ her? What does that mean?"

"I take it you don't know who I am, then?" he asked, his eyes flitting back and forth between her and Bill. "This _is_ the Princess, I hope? It'd be a pity if I'd taken a liking to the wrong young lady."

The way _taken a liking_ rolled off his tongue rang ominous in the hall, but she nonetheless felt her skin heat at the way he was looking at her.

"She is," Bill bit out, and Caroline found herself getting frustrated with all of the vague responses.

"Can someone just tell me what's going on?"

"Well, I had expected you to be informed," Klaus said boredly. "The short version is that I assisted your little clan a few centuries ago, and we made a bargain. Times were different then, and the gift of one's only daughter's hand was thought to be an honor, and I was therefore promised payment in the form of a wife. Now, I'm not the marrying type, but who was I to turn down a weapon in the form of a lovely girl with such... useful abilities..." his eyes dragged up and down her body as he spoke, and she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. "Such power," he murmured, and she had a feeling he hadn't realized he'd spoken.

"In the form of a what now?"

"A wife," he repeated slowly as though he thought she'd lost a few IQ points in the last thirty seconds. "I have the contract here if you'd like to see it. Signed in blood."

"Yes," she said at the same time her father said no, and she shot him a raised eyebrow as she reached out for the contract, wriggling her fingers. She could have sworn Klaus's lips twitched.

He handed it to her and she squinted to read the cramped calligraphy, nausea twisting in her stomach as she read the particulars.

She scanned it for a consummation clause and some of the tension left her when she didn't find one, most likely because it was assumed that it was a given at the time, nor was there any explicit expectation of actual official marriage. It seemed odd but lucky until she got to the blood binding ritual, and she was _so_ not up for that.

Blood magic was tricky, definitely not something to be taken lightly, and this particular one looked like the purpose was to artificially activate the soul bond that veela were famous for.

There was enough prejudice with regular wizards that most veela took great care to encourage the rumors that one could be "half-veela", but it was like any other genetic power. You were a veela or you were not. Some women inherited the trait and some didn't. She'd grown up able to enthrall anyone she wanted if they were caught unaware, but a veela's bond with the lover she chose was just as coveted by women who didn't know better.

The idea of a soulmate was romantic on its face, and truthfully there was nothing wrong with the power as long as it was used on a person who was trustworthy. The bond fostered feelings of protectiveness and it heightened the emotional connection, both of which were idealized in a relationship, but still nice enough. However, she knew Klaus probably couldn't care less about those aspects.

No, he was after the immunity to enchantment a veela bond offered. Though occlumency and protective wards were effective, non-wizards couldn't practice them, and she knew of the Originals, knew what they were.

Klaus was part wolf, so the thrall would be less effective, but she knew that covens had tried to lock that part of him away more than once, to leave him as simply a vampire. In other words, vulnerable to the control.

She doubted he was comfortable with that.

Still, if she entrusted her safety to the man who saw people as weaponry, she wasn't sure how that would turn out, other than 'badly'. She swallowed as she scanned the contract, wishing, not for the first time, that she hadn't been lucky enough to get the gift.

She set it down by her plate, gritting her teeth.

"I don't want to."

If the ritual didn't happen, then the rest of the bits of the contract didn't either, and she would fight tooth and nail to make sure that she never got stuck in the pentagram.

"There are consequences, love. Magic has a price, and if you don't fill your end of the bargain..." he trailed off, but she knew the consequences of breaking the blood bond. Still, losing all of her magic might be worth it.

"I'm not doing it," she said stubbornly.

"Then perhaps I'll kill your entire family," he said casually, his fingers flexing as though he was just _itching_ to rip out Great Aunt Margaret's heart.

He probably was.

"Don't," she said quickly, reaching out as though she could physically block him from three seats down, and he gave her a dimpled smile that could have looked boyish and innocent if it wasn't on him.

"Then I suppose we're in agreement, hmm? Now, as I said, best not to dawdle. Come along, sweetheart."

"But I have school starting again next Monday," she said, naming the first excuse she could think of. There wasn't any way out of a binding contract signed with blood (if she could go back and kill whatever elder signed it she _totally_ would), but maybe she could put it off indefinitely.

"School?" he asked, looking more amused than anything.

"Yeah. It's the end of winter break. So, you know, I'll be busy. I'm graduating this year so I have my finals in a few months, and I'm on the dance committee..." she stopped her rambling abruptly when he stood, walking the few yards to her and holding out his hand. "What are you doing?"

"Your phone. Give it to me."

"Why?"

"I'm going to give you my number."

"You could say 'please'," she muttered, pulling it out and pressing her thumb to the button to unlock it before handing it to him.

He didn't respond, programming the number in and handing it back to her before picking the contract back up from where it was sitting in front of her. "I'll be in touch," he said, flashing her another dimpled grin before he was gone with a whistle of displaced air.

It was completely silent for a few full seconds before Caroline rounded on her father. "What the hell, Dad?"

"We thought he'd forget," Bill said, wincing. "Well, more hoped than anything."

"Well, now I'm going to be a victim of a blood binding ritual, so thanks for the fantastic birthday present."

"Caroline—"

"No. This is _unacceptable._ Arranged marriages have been outlawed for over two hundred years."

"Not if they were arranged before the—"

"I know, but it's not fair. Like, this shouldn't be a thing."

"I know baby girl."

Caroline swelled to her full height, her palms warming as she felt the heat of a fireball begin to gather. "I shouldn't have to get married. This is the 21st century. I have _rights_."

"Caroline, the elders—"

"Lived five hundred years ago and yet _somehow_ managed to preserve the systemic oppression inherent in the greater magical world's patriarchal society in a subculture with a powerful female presence and power. So no. Fuck arranged marriages, fuck the patriarchy, and _fuck you_."

The hall went silent other than a few soft gasps at Caroline's foul language, but she ignored them, pushing out of her chair and walking to the large oak door to make a dramatic exit.

Her heart was pounding as she stalked down the hall to her bedroom, highly aware of her wand, which was strapped to the holster on her thigh, begging to be used.

She wanted to disapparate, to run, tears pricking at her eyes as she fought to regulate her breathing. She knew she couldn't though. Magical consequences aside, he clearly wasn't afraid to threaten her family, not to mention what he could do to her.

Klaus didn't seem like the sort of monster to take betrayal lightly.

She changed into her pajamas with shaking hands, suddenly exhausted. She went to her bathroom to brush her teeth, catching her own blue eyes in the mirror and suddenly hating herself. She hated her powers, her heritage, her _life_. Hated what would so clearly become of her.

She had to stay strong, though, she decided. She would not bend to his every whim, not use her powers for his gain and then fall prettily into place behind him like a good little minion. Caroline had been raised to _rule_ , and she would not be relegated to a pawn of a monstrous psychopath. There had to be some sort of leverage over him that she could exploit. She wasn't going to let herself be cowed.

Curling up in bed with a sigh, she decided that she'd sleep on it. Develop a plan of attack in the morning.

Still, every time she closed her eyes she saw Klaus's satisfied smirk burnt on the back of her lids, her fear seeming to accentuate the glint of sharp teeth and the angles of his face.

 **XXX**

"Where's the girl?"

"Never you mind," Klaus growled, ushering the witch onto the plane. They'd booked all of first class and he took a moment to compel the flight attendants not to bother them and to make sure no one came through the curtain separating them from coach. He'd seduced Genevieve decades ago back when Rebekah had been playing nurse in New Orleans, mostly to amuse himself as he waited for Rebekah to tire herself out, and the poor girl had never quite gotten over him. She was useful, both knowledgeable in magic and unusually powerful, and always willing to lend a hand when he needed magic or spread her legs when he needed release.

"I thought you needed her to-"

"I said never you mind," he said, his voice sharp, and the girl fell silent, glancing out the window at the tarmac.

"Fine," Genevieve said, clearly hurt, and he was thankful she wasn't looking at him as he rolled his eyes, pulling his phone out of his pocket and fiddling with it for something to do with his hands.

Caroline Forbes had certainly not been what he'd expected.

He'd gone in assuming that she would have been told of her fate and had time to get used to it, but it seemed that she was completely ignorant to the contract the elders had signed so many years ago. It was certainly more inconvenient, but she would fall eventually. She was a seventeen year old girl. It shouldn't be hard to make her weak in the knees for him, to bend to his wishes and give him full access to her powers.

He'd been waiting to execute this plan for years, had considered every angle, and Caroline's aura was an essential component. He'd be damned if it was ruined because the girl was too stubborn to give in.

To be fair, she had just found out, and he knew that the knowledge that she would be bound to him must be a bit of a shock. If he gave her a few days, she'd surely relax and warm to the idea of being his.

What girl wouldn't want to be under the protection of the most powerful man in the world?

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I hope you enjoyed this! Please let me know what you thought. Favorite lines? Predictions? Parts?

Thank you so much for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Updates won't generally come out this fast. I just had this chapter like, 90% written. For Canon-ish day :) Thank you to ckhybrid for welcoming me into her home and betaing this for me.

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"Welcome back. I hope you found your winter break relaxing," the Headmistress said from the high table, her spine perfectly straight, hands clasped in front of her. All the students were gathered in clusters around the small round tables scattered in the dining hall, some over-crammed with chairs if the group was slightly too big. As the headmistress listed off a few of the events during the upcoming semester, Caroline leaned over to Bonnie, who was sitting next to her, trying to be subtle as she texted on her mobile floo under the table.

"I need to talk to you tonight," Caroline hissed. "Something happened over break."

"Can it wait? Luka and I were supposed to meet by the—"

"I'm getting married."

"You're _what_?" Bonnie asked, her voice just a bit too loud, and the entire table turned to look at them. Bonnie flashed them a glare, and they all turned back to the high table. Bonnie turned to look at Caroline with wide eyes. "What the _hell_ are you talking about?"

"Well, soul bond _technically_ , but it has the legal effect of one," Caroline said, pressing on as Bonnie opened her mouth to ask another question. "Apparently I've been stuck in an arranged marriage contract my entire life and no one bothered to tell me, and my super-old vampire future husband turned up and was like, 'Hi, ready to get married?' and I was like, 'Seriously?' and then he was like, 'Yep seriously, here's a contract signed in blood' and then I was like, 'no you're old and gross and you _drink human blood to live,'_ and—"

"Okay, yeah. I can cancel," Bonnie interrupted, her eyes wide. "Let me, um... I'll text Luka. _Jesus_ , Care..."

"Yeah, basically," Caroline muttered darkly, stabbing the chicken that had just appeared on the table with her fork. "So, how was your break?"

"Comparatively uneventful."

"Well, duh. But like, anything fun? At all? I need a distraction, Bon."

Bonnie slowly began to talk about her break, and Caroline let herself got lost in lightly teasing her about her new relationship with Luka and shit-talking Abby so that Bonnie wouldn't have to. It was nice to forget, even for a little while, what she'd have to do.

By the time they made it back to their rooms though, an uncomfortable feeling of foreboding was creeping back. Everyone had single rooms at Ilvermorny with small common rooms for each year of students, which were all connected to the big common room for the house, and Bonnie sat next to her on the plush couch of the seventh year girls' common space, looking at her expectantly.

"Okay, so this wedding thing..."

Caroline let out a sharp breath, fiddling with the hem of her blouse. "Right, so...apparently a bajillion years ago Klaus Mikaelson-"

"Who?"

"One of the first ever vampires who's also a werewolf. He's super old. Anyway, apparently he did my family a favor and so they promised him that the next woman born into the line would marry him."

"And then your family had no girls for centuries," Bonnie finished, wrinkling her nose. "So I'm guessing you met him?"

"Yeah, and he's the actual worst. He literally told me to ' _come along_ '. Who does that? He just like, expected me to hop on a plane with him and be his trophy wife."

"Wow."

"Yep."

Bonnie was silent for a few seconds, her brow furrowed, and Caroline was about to break the silence when she spoke again. "I can ask my grams if she can try to find a way to break the contract for you?"

Caroline was seriously tempted. She didn't want anything to do with Klaus, and she wanted nothing more than to escape the entire situation. Unfortunately, she knew that Klaus wasn't going to let it go, that if she betrayed him her entire family would probably be wiped out, and when she tried to explain that to Bonnie, her friend shot her a disgusted look.

"Even more of a reason. You can't just resign yourself to this."

"I mean, I kind of have to. The contract is binding and the elders signed it. I don't even know how we'd go about the process of breaking it, especially since we probably only have a few weeks at most to figure it out. Plus, even if we did figure it out, I'm not risking my family for that. The good news is that if we do end up doing the ritual, he can't hurt me because of the bond."

"You need to stop looking at the bright side. This is terrible."

"I can't help it. It's the only way I'll stay sane."

"Well, at least if you're glued to him and he can't hurt you because of the bond you can do everything in your power to make his life miserable."

Caroline grinned. She might have spent the last few days having elaborate fantasies about ruining any and all plans Klaus shared with her. She wanted him to be miserable for putting her through this. If he was going to tie himself to her, she'd make damn sure he regretted it.

"Oh don't worry, Bon. I am _way_ ahead of you on that. He's going to regret signing that contract."

"Okay..." Bonnie said, though Caroline knew that they'd probably be having the conversation again. Bonnie was probably going to lock herself in the library and research her ass off. A part of Caroline really wanted her friend to find a way to break the ritual, but the realistic part of her had to acknowledge that it was too dangerous.

Klaus was the real deal. After he'd left and she'd calmed down she'd managed to track down some information about him on one of the "fantasy mythology" websites that was actually a real magical encyclopedia, and she hadn't even absorbed the half of it when he'd visited. He was a vengeful, petty murderer who seemed to have no regard for anyone other than himself. She wasn't sure why he'd want her anyway. Sure, she had a mirror, she knew she was attractive, but her gut instinct was telling her that he wasn't just after a hot trophy wife. He could probably walk into any bar he wanted and go home with multiple women. At once.

No, he was after something else. She'd already gathered that he wanted to be immune to her allure, but she couldn't help but think that there was something more.

She'd find out at some point. For now, she just had to survive, and make sure the rest of her family and friends did too.

 **XXX**

Caroline nearly groaned out loud when she came back to her room from her first Arithmancy class of the semester to see Klaus standing at her window, looking out on the grounds. She dropped her bag on her bed and busied herself with having a brief internal debate about whether she wanted to take her outer robe off or not before deciding she might as well and shedding it, leaving her in her uniform. If he got too grossly stare-y she'd just hex him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, sitting down as far away from him as possible, glaring when he turned to face her, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Hello to you too, love."

"Hi," she said impatiently. " _What are you doing here_?"

"I came to talk about the ritual."

She nodded jerkily, fiddling with her wand and wrinkling her nose when red sparks shot out, singing her school skirt. "I don't even understand why you want to marry me anyway. I don't see what you're getting other than mouthy arm candy, so—"

"Marriage is a pointless human convention," he interrupted calmly. "It used to be used for alliances, and that's what I want. I want your power. Your magic."

"My magic?"

"Yes."

"Um, last I checked there are lots of witches, and I'm sure a lot of them are idiots who would claw my eyes out for a chance at you. Go kidnap one of them."

"As flattering as your assesment of my appeal is, sweetheart, I meant your aura. You have control over others, should you wish to exert it."

"You do too. You can compel people."

"Not witches or warlocks."

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, okay. I see. Mind controlling non-mags and vampires isn't enough for you. You need to control witches too. What are you planning on doing, making them pretend to like you?"

He gave her a pointed glare. "No. I need allies."

"Allies? For what?"

"You don't need to know," he said, glancing at her before turning back to look out the window at the manicured lawns.

"Um, if I'm helping you, yeah. I kinda do."

"A villain never discloses his evil plans to the help, sweetheart."

"I'm not the help," she snapped, her eyes narrowing.

"Oh? Then what are you?"

Out of context the smile on his face might have just been teasing, but his sharp gaze and quirked eyebrow told her that he was enjoying baiting her. He thought he was putting her in her place by reminding her that if she didn't want to be a pawn she had to acknowledge the role that had been forced on her.

"Whatever," she deflected. "Look, I'm not going to use my powers to help you. Like, the blood bond will tie me to you, but I'll still have free will, in case you didn't know. You can't force me to do anything."

He tensed, pushing back from the window to look at her, his eyes flashing gold, and she barely managed not to recoil.

"I know," he said, sinking into her desk chair without glancing away from her face. "But you will."

She gritted her teeth as he leaned back, propping his feet on her desk like he owned the place. It was an obvious display of power, of dominance, showing that he was completely comfortable with _defiling_ her space.

"Why would I do that?" she gritted out, her nails biting into her palms at the infuriating smirk on his face.

"In the beginning because I'm threatening your family. Later because you'll want to."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll fall in love with me, of course," he said matter-of-factly, as though it was obvious and inevitable, and she couldn't help the incredulous bubble of laughter that escaped her.

"You know that's not how the bond works, right? It just projects and intensifies feelings, it isn't super choosey about which ones."

"Is that so?" he drawled.

She had a feeling he already knew everything about the bond, possibly more than she did, as she doubted he'd lock into powerful blood magic if he didn't know every single loophole, but she pressed on anyway. "Yes, and let me make one thing clear: I hate you. I will always hate you, and all you've done is lock yourself in a feedback loop of intensely feeling that hatred. Since the blood protection prevents you from hurting me directly or through someone else, you get to enjoy feeling it until I die. Have fun with that."

His eyes flashed again, and he pushed on the armrests to sit up more fully. When she spoke, his voice was deathly quiet. "Careful with that sharp tongue, sweetheart. There are ways to torture without leaving a single scratch."

"Yeah. There are. But you won't do it."

He quirked an eyebrow, his eyes boring into hers, and she took a shaky breath before continuing. "You're lonely. You want someone to love you."

She was mostly taking a stab in the dark. She had an inkling that she was right, a gut feeling. Even if she wasn't, maybe if she annoyed him enough by psychoanalyzing him he'd leave her alone.

He laughed, his head thrown back, the sound oddly sharp. "Very funny, love. If you think I'm some sort of anti-hero with a dark past who just needs the light of true love to be _good_ —"

"No. You want someone to love _you_. Not the facade you put up for the world. It would be so much easier for you for me to fall head over heels for some lie, wouldn't it? But this bond terrifies you because you're giving me access to your innermost feelings, and you don't like it. You know that someone will finally see you, the _real_ you, and run screaming. It'll confirm everything you hate about yourself, and you know that if you somehow manage to fool me into thinking you're worth caring about, you won't have to feel it."

His face darkened slightly but he wiped the expression away, and she realized that her stab in the dark had hit the nail on the head. Perfect.

"Have they started teaching psychology at Ilvermorny since I last visited?"

"No."

"Well I suppose that explains why you're horrible at it," he said, though there was no real bite to his tone. He was looking at her differently, eyes narrowed, assessing her without the amusement and indulgence that had been present before.

She knew that he'd never taken her seriously at all. He saw her as a tool, a stubborn little girl who would pout and protest until falling weak in the knees for his stupid dimples and empty compliments two weeks in.

But maybe now he'd gotten the memo that she was not going to bend, not even a little. She refused to resign herself to a life of misery just because some stupid elders a gajillion years ago signed her up for marriage with a monster. Yes, this was a life sentence, and she knew there was no way out of the bond itself, but if he wanted her powers and her body and her _genuine affection_ then she would make damn sure that he had to work for it. She owed him _nothing_ , and if he ever wanted anything to do with her, he'd have to learn to treat her well. He'd have to _respect_ her.

She glared at him resolutely with her arms crossed over her chest, never letting her stink eye falter, and his face was closing down as he stared back. It seemed to be dawning on him that she could pose a legitimate threat to him. Not physically, but strategically. Emotionally.

And as far as she could tell, there was nothing Klaus hated more than feeling insecure.

Suddenly he leaned back again, his muscles relaxing, a small smirk playing on his lips, and she wasn't sure whether it was because he'd decided that her threats were empty or because he'd made a plan, but it didn't bode well. "Stubborn little thing, aren't you love?"

"I'm not a thing," she bit out, all too aware that he was deflecting, trying to steer their conversation away from how she'd read him. She knew better than to think he'd admit that she was right, admit what he perceived to be a weakness, but she still wouldn't give him an inch on his behavior.

Her eye twitched as some mud from the bottom of his boot smeared on the polished mahogany.

"And get your foot off my desk. It's gross."

"As the lady commands," he said dryly, moving his feet to the floor and standing, his forearms flexing as he stood up from the chair. "Be ready at eleven o'clock on Friday. I'll come for you."

"Fine."

"The apex is at approximately two in the morning, so please do have the sense to dress appropriately. I can't have my bride contracting hypothermia, hmm?"

"Whatever," she muttered. She was fairly sure that he was only bringing up wedding words to piss her off and she refused to be baited.

"Now, Caroline, let's not get testy. Where's that positive attitude that was described so fondly in your letters of recommendation?"

She tensed. "Letters of recommendation?"

"You can't have thought that I'd come collect you without every bit of information I could possibly gather, sweetheart. I happened to know that Madame Dubois thinks quite highly of you. Glowing reviews. You'd almost think she was put under your-"

"All of the professors have preventive amulets that Ilvermorny has held since its founding to prevent the thrall taking effect," Caroline bit out. "And just FYI, I would rather contract hypothermia than marry you."

"Hmm, and wouldn't that be a shame. I have no doubt that you're clever enough to know what would happen to you in that case?" he asked, pressing on before she could talk. "It'd be similar to the situation you'd be in if you tried to harm yourself in any way before the ritual. I'd feed you my blood and provide a warm, safe bed for you to rest up in. You'll be right as rain in no time at all. I'd even provide someone trustworthy to ensure that you stay just where I want you."

She felt her eyes prick with helpless tears, her hands curling into fists. "Fine, but to be clear. This soul bond wedding thing? Only in name. I will not stay in the same house with you, let alone your room. You will not touch me. Ever."

"I'm many things love, but those I take to bed are always willing. I don't need compulsion or coercion to tempt those with good taste, no matter their initial pretenses of disinterest," he said, reaching to run the tip of his finger down her cheekbone, and this time she did recoil, stepping back.

"Good, because I wouldn't touch you if you were the last man on earth."

"For now," he said, a boyish grin cutting dimples into his cheeks, and she froze as he reached for her hand, her eyes widening as he brought it up to his mouth to his lips, brushing them over her knuckles. "So, sweetheart. Friday?"

"It's a date," she bit out, wrenching her hand away, and he gave her a smile that was all teeth. She blinked and he was gone, the curtains rustling in his wake.

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I hope you guys liked this! Any thoughts on the dialogue? The plot? Are they in character? Predictions?

Feedback is how I get better and I adore it! Thank you so much for reading :D


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for being so patient about the wait, you guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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"Now, Justine... We wouldn't want to be difficult, would we?"

"Well if _we_ have that collective goal, you're ruining it," she said, her hands on her hips as she glared at him over the countertop. "Unicorns are exceptionally rare to begin with, and I get that you order people around for funsies and they have to do what you say, but for us normal people, convincing someone to face the consequences of killing one and gathering the blood is almost impossible. I think that an extra five hundred galleons is fair."

He didn't particularly want to reward her insolence. It would set a bad precedent with the other witches in Salem, and he had to do business there fairly often. He didn't want them to get any silly ideas about bartering. Unfortunately, he was also in a hurry. He had less than five hours until the ritual and it was a three hour drive back to Ilvermorny. He could have someone take him by side-along apparition, of course, but there was always the risk that his witch would splinch him, whether on purpose or accidentally, and having to wait to grow limbs back was inconvenient.

"Two hundred and fifty," Klaus said, keeping his voice mild despite his growing annoyance, and he laid his palms flat on the counter, leaning over it to look at her and letting his eyes shine gold. "Final offer, love. Otherwise I'll take my business elsewhere."

She glowered at him but obligingly took the keyring out from under the counter and disappeared into the back room, returning about thirty seconds later with a vial containing swirling silvery liquid, setting it down on the counter. "That'll be 2250 galleons. Card or check?"

He let himself have a brief fantasy of pulling her heart from her chest before pulling the silver card out of his wallet with his Gringott's vault number engraved on it and handing it over, He slipped the vial in his pocket as the register beeped followed by the click of it printing his receipt, and he signed it with the ostentatious peacock quill she handed him.

The walk to the nearby parking garage was short, and he nodded at the hybrid in the front seat before slipping into the back. Josh knew better than to ask questions about what Klaus had been doing in Salem, and he was silent as he started the ignition before double-checking their destination. "Ilvermorny?"

"Yes," Klaus said, pulling the vial out of his jacket pocket and swirling it slightly, admiring the shifting silver liquid. He'd learned over the years that unicorn blood had a multitude of uses, all falling squarely in the realm of what polite society would declare unacceptable.

He'd never much cared for polite society.

One of the many uses of unicorn blood was to enhance the powers of vampirism. A vampire was already "cursed" with undeath, though he saw it as more of a gift, and therefore the curse of the blood didn't take hold. It enhanced the vampire's strength and sped up the healing process if they got injured. With only a few drops, the blood could end dessication. The stigma of killing unicorns was such that the properties weren't well-known, which would make it all the easier.

Yes, his plan to kill Mikael and reunite his family was going smoothly so far. Unfortunately, it seemed to have hit a bit of a blonde, bubbly snag.

The girl was supposed to be the easy part, though in retrospect he should have known to prepare for the worst. She was barely eighteen, and on paper seemed to be the manipulatable sort. Unfortunately, he seemed to have been mistaken. To be fair, once the ritual took place she would have felt his intense apathy regardless, but he found that young ladies of her age and disposition thought of themselves as 'fixers', and he'd assumed that the possibility of saving him, no matter how impossible the task, might have appealed to her. Unimpressed by his charm as she might be, he hoped he could convince her to bend just a bit. If he found something to like about her, gave her just a taste of possible affection through the bond, she might take the bait.

He'd have to be careful not to go too far, though. Developing an attachment to her could get messy.

Still, she was lovely, even moreso when provoked, and there was no reason not to tempt her into something physical. He would be a terrible husband if he didn't tend to her needs, after all.

The thought made him grimace, and he had to remind himself for the hundredth time that the bond would only last until her death, and she was mortal. Three quarters of a century with a stubborn little thorn in his side was a small price to pay for his father's demise, and perhaps she'd grow more tolerable over time.

By the time they arrived at a field close to the Ilvermorny grounds around midnight, he could feel the pull of excitement underneath his skin. He watched with rapt attention as Greta set up the ritual circle, placing the necessary herbs in the correct places and setting up the stone basin in the exact middle of the site, checking the progress of the moon to make sure they stayed on schedule.

He sent Josh to pick up the girl about half an hour before the moon hit its apex, and she arrived just fifteen minutes later, the jeans she wore deliciously hugging her hips in a way that made it difficult not to stare. She was also wearing a puffy blue jacket and mittens, her cheeks pinked with cold, and he gave her a dimpled smile as she approached, which she didn't return.

"Hello, sweetheart," he said pleasantly as she stood a few feet away, glaring at the ritual circle.

She didn't answer for a few seconds before her eyes flicked up to meet his. He was surprised when he found that he couldn't quite decode her expression.

"Why me?" she asked, and though her voice was quiet, he heard it clearly. "I thought it was because I was the first girl, but I read it over and it could have been any descendant. I have a bajillion cousins and a lot of extended family. Camille's older than me and she'd count."

"I had to break the curse before I came to collect on the bargain."

" _Collect_ ," she muttered. "You make me sound like I'm a prize or something."

"You are. The spoils of war."

He'd meant to tease, wanted to see that pretty laugh light up her face the way it had when she was talking to the Bennett girl, when she hadn't known he was watching, but instead her lip curled, and she tossed her hair, looking away. "Just give me the knife," she said, her tone flat. He found that he didn't like the absence of the emotion in her tone, and didn't quite know how to process that.

"Not yet," he said, gesturing to one side of the runed stone basin on the pedestal they'd placed in the ritual circle's center. "Take your place there, and once it's time Greta will hand it to you."

She did as he told her, scowling even as she stood, and he took his place across from her. Their eyes met, and he found that he couldn't look away, the electricity and tension making his hair stand on end.

"The moon's at its apex," Greta said, her voice startling him and cutting through the moment. "Caroline, you go first. You've studied divination, right?"

"Yeah, and I know how the ritual works anyway," Caroline said, taking the knife from Greta with shaking hands and carefully drawing the tip across the heartline on her left palm, squeezing her fist to let the blood fall into the basin before handing the knife to Klaus, blade-side first.

He fought down a smile, reaching to ease the handle out of her hand, his fingers faltering when he touched her skin, surprised by the magical charge. He looked at her face and saw that the blue of her eyes had deepened, her lips seeming to swell as though she'd just been kissed. The ritual had activated her thrall. He was entranced despite the lack of the allure's magical effect on him, but quickly shook it off, taking the knife from her.

"Lifeline, correct?" he asked Greta, rolling his eyes when he saw that she was staring at Caroline as well, her lips slightly parted.

"It is," Caroline cut in impatiently. "Lifeline, squeeze the blood, and then take my hand. Didn't you read up on this?"

He was unable to hold back the genuine chuckle this time, and though he shouldn't have been surprised by her impertinence, he _was_ at how strangely charming he found it.

"Of course, sweetheart," he said, satisfied at the twitch of her eye at the endearment. He sliced along the lifeline of his palm and squeezed the blood into the basin, poking Greta harshly on the shoulder. "The potion," he reminded her, and she nodded hastily, pouring in the vial holding the bonding solution. The mixed blood swirled with the potion and turned a bright silver, showing that the ritual was working. He reached for Caroline's hand, and his enhanced hearing caught her swallow before she laced her fingers with his and they dipped their joined hands in the basin, covering them with the potion. He felt warmth spread through his veins, a breeze picking up around them as Greta chanted the spell, and for a brief, glorious moment he felt _whole_ in a way he'd never experienced before he came down from the high.

The potion had disappeared, leaving his and Caroline's joined hands in the basin. She looked up at him before tugging her hand away, and he felt a foreign feeling of crushing hopelessness and anger.

He abruptly realized that he might have miscalculated her reaction more than he'd thought.

"I told you," she said, clearly sensing his surprise at her feelings, her tone dripping with condescension. "Do I have to walk back to school or can I have a ride?"

Klaus waved to Josh, watching Caroline walk away from him, and he felt another foreign feeling fill him. A sense of what he could only describe as petty satisfaction.

Caroline Forbes, he suddenly realized, was not going to bend for him unless he gave her a very good reason. She was not a pawn, nor was she willing to play the part.

Yes, this could get more complicated than he'd expected. Luckily, he did enjoy a challenge.

 **XXX**

Caroline smiled slightly when she returned to the common room, seeing that Bonnie waited up for her.

"Hey. How'd it go?"

"Well, I'm married now, so there's that," Caroline said, shedding her puffy jacket and throwing it on the couch.

"Mazel Tov," Bonnie said dryly, and Caroline huffed, unlacing her boots and kicking them off before sinking down against the cushions, covering her face with her hands, rubbing her temples. She hadn't felt much of anything as she was driven back to the castle and walked back to the common room, and it was driving her crazy.

"You okay?" Bonnie asked before wincing at the look Caroline shot her. "Well, as okay as you can be?"

"So I've known about the bond all my life, right? And I totally expected to have like, a bunch of feelings thrown at me after the ritual, but there hasn't really been much. Like, maybe a little confusion, but I expected him to like, be happy that I did the ritual? Or at least annoyed at me for being as bitchy as I possibly could the entire time, but there's been nothing."

"What do you mean? Don't you feel all his feelings?"

"Well, sort of," Caroline said, wrinkling her nose. "I feel anything he feels about me in the moment. So like, theoretically if we actually liked each other I'd feel loved and whole all the time, or when we were fighting I'd feel his anger. Instead there's like, a void where his feeling are supposed to be. It's like he doesn't even care enough to hate me."

Bonnie made a sympathetic noise, and Caroline leaned against her. "Well, he's a thousand year old sociopath, so..." Bonnie trailed off, and Caroline grimaced.

"Yeah. I just don't think it's hit me yet. That this is my life, I mean. That we're like, _bound._ I'll never be able to date or get married or—"

"What's he going to do about it?" Bonnie interrupted, sounding more angry than anything else. "Of course you can date. You shouldn't have to put your entire life on hold because of his dumb evil plots."

"He doesn't seem like a sharer," Caroline muttered, and Bonnie grabbed her hand, squeezing it lightly.

"Hey. Klaus doesn't get to take those choices away, Caroline. Sure, you're bound to him in writing, but you're not _his_ to decide whether he shares. If he gets jealous you'll feel it and you can tell him that he doesn't have a say in it."

"But he's dangerous, Bonnie. He could hurt people I care about. He could hurt you or my family."

"No, he can't," Bonnie said fiercely. "He can't hurt anyone you love without risking you not helping him, and the bond literally won't let him hurt you."

"But—"

"You have all the cards in this, Caroline. Don't you see that? He _needs_ you."

"Oh," Caroline breathed, realizing Bonnie was right. "Oh."

"Exactly. You own his ass, Caroline, and he knows it. He just wants you to think you're powerless."

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."

"Yeah, you do!" Bonnie repeated encouragingly. "Now, who's going to make that sociopath's life miserable?"

Caroline shook her head, smiling. "Bon..."

"Spoiler, you are," Bonnie said cheerfully.

Caroline let out a sharp breath, a lot of the tension bleeding out of her as Bonnie smirked next to her, looking way too pleased with herself. "He won't know what hit him," Caroline said finally, her spine straightening as she stared into the fireplace.

"That's my girl," Bonnie said, bumping their shoulders together. "Now, I don't know about you but I'm exhausted."

"Wow, and you didn't even participate in a life changing magical ritual."

"This isn't the suffering olympics, Caroline. I had Divination this morning and it was _the worst_."

"That's why I dropped it," Caroline said unsympathetically.

"Yeah, but I have the Sight, so I kind of have to take it. You were _supposed_ to stay in solidarity."

"I mean, I could have, or I could take Arithmancy and do actual practical magic like a reasonable person."

Bonnie snorted. "Nerd."

"I'm going to bed before you hurt my feelings," Caroline grumbled, grabbing her jacket and bending to grab her boots. "See you at breakfast."

She felt a lot better as she walked up the stairs. Bonnie always seemed to know when to do a peptalk and it had been excellent timing.

She scrubbed herself raw in the shower before changing into soft pajamas and brushing her teeth hard enough to make her spit blood. It wasn't that she felt unclean, exactly, but the feel of Klaus's blood still seemed to fester in her veins. It still felt odd, an unnatural sizzle of magic underneath her skin, and no matter how much better her best friend had made her feel, she was still looking forward to sleeping and letting this nightmare fade away, even if it was only for a few hours.

She felt something hard under her cheek when she fell into bed, though, and she swore as she sat up, flicking her wand at the lamp to turn it on and letting her eyes fall on the package sitting on top of her pillow. It was thin, rectangular box wrapped in black paper with a delicate silver ribbon on top tied in an elegant bow.

"I swear to god if it's a fucking ring," she muttered to the empty room, harshly ripping off the wrapping paper and yanking open the lid. Her frown deepened when she found a rolled up piece of paper, her lips parting slightly when she smoothed it out.

It was her.

She was smiling in the sketch, her eyes bright, and Caroline briefly wondered when exactly he'd had time to commission someone to stalk her and draw it between all of his evil event planning. And why a sketch anyway? Did he Google "cute non-sexy things to give your reluctant bride on your wedding night"?

She crumpled up the sketch and threw it against the wall, watching with slight satisfaction as it fell to the carpet. She hoped he could feel her anger and her hatred over the bond, that he knew how much she loathed him, and she hoped that he'd have the decency to at least feel a little guilty.

Considering that the only response to her fury was apathetic silence, she decided it was a long shot.

* * *

I hope you liked it! Please let me know if you have feedback, since that's the only way I become a better writer. Did you like the dialogue? Did you feel like they were all in character? Any predictions? How do you feel about Bonnie and Caroline's friendship? PLEASE TELL ME ALL YOUR THOUGHTS! Your reviews inspire me to get content out faster and always put a smile on my face.


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter takes on a darker feel, and contains Klaus watching Caroline interrogate (read: seduce) someone. It doesn't have a cheaty feel to me at all since Klaus asks her to, but if you're extra super-duper sensitive to that, be warned. If you're sensitive to very-slight dubcon for the seduced non-KC person I'd also continue at your own peril.

* * *

"Hello, love."

Caroline nearly dropped her spellbook in surprise, whirling around to face Klaus, who was leaning against the doorway. "Oh my god, can you at least _knock_?"

"My apologies," he said with a grin, crossing the threshold of her room and shutting the door behind him. She made a mental note for herself to research whether there was a spell to make her bedroom door count as an entrance to her house so that she had to invite him in. "On my next visit I'll be sure to announce my presence with additional fanfare."

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?"

"Visiting my lovely wife, of course."

"Not your wife," she muttered.

"Blood bonded, sweetheart. Therefore, _technically_..."

He trailed off, a small smirk playing on his lips and she kind of wanted to punch him. "Full offense, but you don't exactly seem like the marrying type," she said grumpily, setting her book on the side table and crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm not," he said easily, sinking down in her desk chair, and she pinned him with a glare as he started to lift his legs to rest them on her desktop.

"Feet off my desk," she growled.

"Of course, sweetheart," he said mockingly, a glint of fang showing through his smile. She gritted her teeth, and she could feel the swell of his satisfaction at her irritation.

What was he, a twelve year old boy? Getting his rocks off on making girls mad? She refused to let him win. His determination to show her that he was the alpha male was unacceptable.

She would not allow him to _get her fucking goat_.

She swallowed, taking a deep calming breath and trying to let go of her negative feelings. She almost managed it until she opened her eyes and saw his stupid smug smirky face.

"Were you _raised_ in a barn?"

"Close. Farmland," he said easily. "I can't say much for my mother's attempt to instill manners in my siblings and I, however."

"You'd think that over the last thousand years you, a grown-ass man, would _learn some_."

"Now, let's not be hostile, Caroline."

"I'll be hostile all I want. I was forced into this dumb soulbond with a blood-sucking _psychopath_ , and I'm not going to pretend to be happy about it."

His eyes widened, his hand slowly moving to rest on his chest over his _shriveled dead_ heart in such a mocking imitation of hurt that she probably would have laughed if she wasn't so irritated.

"I simply wanted to check up. See how you were doing after the ritual. I'm concerned for my wife's well-being, you see."

Ugh. If he was going to double, triple, and quadruple down on the wife thing as long as he could tell it annoyed her (like a fucking _twelve-year-old_ )this was totally not a hill she was going to bother dying on.

"I'm fantastic," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "You can go now."

"Afraid I can't, love," he said, his eyes landing on the crumpled sketch she'd thrown on the floor after she'd returned from the ritual and bending to pick it up. "Ah, so you did receive my gift."

"Yeah. Thanks for the creepy sketch. Did you hire someone to hide in the bushes to capture the moment?"

"Not at all. I've picked up a few skills over the years. Painting, sketching..."

"Oh my god, please don't tell me you're trying to brand yourself as a sensitive artistic serial killer because I might throw myself out a window."

"I am not. You're simply a lovely muse."

She eyed the window pointedly, trying to look like she was seriously contemplating following through on her threat, and he chuckled.

"I assume you didn't see the note, then?"

"Note?"

He smoothed out the sketch without a word, flipping it over and handing it to her. She wrinkled her nose when she saw there had been writing on the back that she hadn't noticed. She scanned it quickly.

 _Caroline,_

 _After a bit of research, I've found out that due to a handy little rule leftover from the eighteenth century, married students and their spouses have the right to their own quarters. I have taken the liberty of procuring them for my own use when I'm visiting, as from what I gather you'd be happier in your dormitory._

 _I do hope that you'd be willing to spare some time around ten o'clock tomorrow morning for a discussion with me about the specifics of our arrangement going forward over brunch. Our suite is located on the third floor on the left side of the painting depicting a Swedish Shortsnout. The password is 'Hummingbird'._

 _Fondly,_

 _Klaus_

She glanced at the clock, noting that it was almost eleven. "Whoops. Guess I missed our date," she said with a shrug, dropping the sketch on her side table and sitting on her bed, settling her book in her lap again as she scooted to lean against her pillows, staring unseeingly at the wand movement diagram to look like she was ignoring him. "Rain check? I'm free at a quarter to never."

"Afraid not, sweetheart," he said, his consonants clipped. She felt a surge of annoyance through the bond, one of the first pure feelings she'd felt from him. She fought down a pleased smile that she'd finally goaded him into something other than indifference. She refused to look up when she heard her desk chair scrape against the carpet, though when the mattress dipped by her feet she was too curious to keep it up. "As you've most likely gathered, I've collected you for the benefit of your magic."

She snorted. "Um, obviously. I'm not an idiot. I know the point is for me to seduce your enemies so that you can murder them while they're distracted. Magical honeypot or whatever."

"Close. I'm able to commit murder on my own. It's more satisfying to accomplish something with your own two hands anyway."

"That is _gross_."

He grinned unrepentantly. "Perhaps. But your use is more specific. Torture, and murder by extension, is quite sadly a poor way of obtaining information. People tend to be ready to say anything to make the pain end, resulting in unusable confessions. I'd compel the information if I could, but witches and wizards are unfortunately immune."

She wrinkled her nose. "So I seduce your enemies after they're captured to make them tell you what you want to know? FYI, still a honeypot."

He shrugged. "I did say you were close."

She wanted to point out that there were alternatives to her powers, but she knew it would be useless. Veritaserum took a long time to brew and had a short shelf life and truth spells or Legilimency could be evaded using Occlumency, so it made sense that she would be a more convenient option, but the idea of being _convenient_ irked her, as did the fact that she would be sexually objectifying herself for Klaus's purposes.

It wasn't like she had to touch them or anything unless they were a particularly accomplished occlumens, but that was rare and still overcome with an extra burst. She knew she should probably dig in her heels. Klaus likely wouldn't hurt her family this early in their game of push-and-pull. That would be a last resort to keep her in line, and it was too soon strategically.

It would be better in the long run to get more information on his ultimate goal and go along with the interrogations for now. She had already decided to cooperate as little as possible without being difficult enough to get him all murdery. She needed to be useful for as long as possible. She had no doubt that as soon as Klaus had finished whatever he needed her for there would be one of two outcomes: he'd consider her a weakness and keep her locked in a gilded cage, an on-call interrogator until her natural death, or he'd risk the consequences of the bond breaking unnaturally and she'd be thrown away, exposed to his enemies as an easy target.

Neither of those seemed all that conducive to her living a fulfilling life.

"Right. So like, are you just going to pop up every now and then with a prisoner or do you have a more specific plan?"

"All you need to know at the moment is that I'm hoping to track down an enemy, and he's rather elusive. When I capture his allies it will be your job to find out all you can."

"And like, will I have any warning, or..." she trailed off, raising an eyebrow. He didn't jump to fill the silence, not that she'd expected it, but it would have been nice to have something to go on. "Because I have classes and homework and I'm the head of two student clubs _and_ the dance committee."

"I know," he said, nodding. "Dueling on Tuesdays, Choir on Monday and Wednesday, and your committee meetings at your leisure. Is that correct?"

"It's so creepy that you know my schedule," she grumbled, laying back against the pillows, not missing the appreciative sweep of his eyes down her torso and the twitch of interest through the bond.

Interesting.

"I want to know where you are if you're needed."

"Whatever," she muttered, glaring in the general direction of anywhere but his face.

"I'll do my best to give you forewarning," he said after a few seconds, his reluctant tone giving her an inkling that he felt like he was giving her a major concession.

"And you can wait until I'm done with my meeting or classes," she added, meeting his eyes stubbornly.

"If it's not an emergency."

"Um, I don't care if you think it's an emergency. School and clubs and stuff are important to me, and I'm not letting you get in the way of that."

He stared at her, and she could see the gears turning in his mind, the calculation of how far he could push. "Fine," he said after a moment, giving her a single nod. "It's a reasonable request."

"Oh, _is it_? Thank you so much. That's so nice of you to do the bare minimum to let me live a semi-normal life."

"You're quite welcome," he said mildly, getting to his feet and slipping his hands in his pockets. "I'll be in touch. If you need me, you can either come to our quarters—"

" _Your_ quarters," she growled, knowing he was baiting her but at this point feeling like she had to object on principle.

He shrugged. "Yes. I use a nonmag cellphone, which if I recall correctly don't work here, so I've taken the liberty of procuring a different way to communicate."

She watched as he pulled a compact out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. It was exactly the sort of thing she would have picked out for herself, the rose gold exterior engraved with vines and flowers. "Look into it and say the same password—hummingbird—and it will connect you to mine."

"Okay," she said, dropping it in her school bag. "Got it. Anything else or can you go now?"

"I suppose I should leave you to enjoy your weekend," he said, nodding at her. "It was a pleasure, as always."

"Please let the door hit you on the way out. Preferably hard," she said, already looking back down at her textbook, ignoring his soft laugh before the door closed behind him.

 **XXX**

"You're late," Caroline said irritably, pushing off the stone wall and glaring at him, adjusting her school bag over her shoulder.

"Had business to attend to, love."

The flush of annoyance in her cheeks was satisfying, the way her eyes flashed when she glared at him almost hypnotic.

He held the door for her, resisting the urge to press his palm to the small of her back, knowing she wouldn't take kindly to it. It was a fine balance, tempting her to come to him while keeping her in her place, and the first step was to make her more comfortable in his presence. He'd been itching to mark her with his touch, to feel her skin warm and soft against his fingers. He had a feeling the bond was only partly behind it, that combined with his wolf it had formed an attachment to the girl that could prove dangerous if left unchecked.

He'd never form an emotional fixation of course, any affection was a weakness after all, but possessiveness was natural, wasn't it? It just couldn't progress to the point that he was willing to compromise his strategy to keep her piece unharmed on his chessboard. He'd have to pay attention to that.

They walked in silence, Caroline keeping a careful distance between them, and he could feel the ripples of annoyance and apprehension radiating from her. It was the first time he'd called on her to help with an interrogation. Her fingers were twisting together during the car ride as she stared out the window, her teeth worrying her lip.

"I'll be with you the whole time, sweetheart. You'll be safe with me," he said, almost surprised by the promise coming out of his mouth, and she looked just as floored by his words as he felt before she recovered, looking away from him again, not responding. The silence felt heavier.

They finally arrived after a few more excruciating minutes, and he led her to the small nondescript cottage, barking for his guards to stay outside and keep watch.

"This will be simple," he said quietly as they reached the front door. "I simply need to know the location of Mikael."

"Who's Mikael?"

"Never you mind, sweetheart," he said, realizing he'd brushed her off too harshly when her expression darkened.

"Whatever," she muttered, unwrapping her scarf and pulling off her gloves, shoving them in his hands. "Let's just get this over with."

He unlocked the front door for her and followed her inside, rolling his eyes at her audible gasp of horror at the wizard sitting in a chair with a gag in his mouth.

"Don't feel too sorry for him, love. He's one of Mikael's crowd. Killed hundreds of people and created an inferi army during the last war."

"And that's supposed to make me feel _better_ about using my powers on him?" Caroline asked with raised eyebrows, and Klaus inwardly winced at his mistake. He'd have to be more aware of her comfort going forward. He had no desire to make her feel like pawn, no matter how true it was. He found that the idea of making her feel exploited was abhorrent to him, and he had half a mind to give her a way out if she chose it.

He viciously shoved away the impulse to allow her a graceful exit, reminding himself that this was why he'd collected her in the first place. She was a weapon, and her feelings should only matter to the extent that they benefited him.

It admittedly made him feel slightly less on edge when the bond didn't push any discomfort or resentment through to him, and from his extensive doses of Caroline-feelings for the past month he knew that she had immense difficulty suppressing emotion from him. It eased the irrational impulse to reassure her, but also indicated that she was putting up a fight for the sake of doing so. He'd have to think about what that could mean.

"Better than an innocent man, isn't it?" he finally pointed out, sinking onto the couch and watching as Caroline took a deep breath, ignoring his answer.

The lights seemed to dim just a bit when she took focus, and he watched as clinically as he could to note how her features changed. Her skin seemed to glow, her lips swelling and darkening to a brighter red, her eyes growing heavy lidded. She approached the man in the chair on light feet despite looking every bit the pretty predator he knew her to be, wrinkling her nose as she removed the gag before making eye contact with her victim.

Well, she tried to.

Klaus felt a surge of jealousy as the man's eyes wandered down the curve of _his_ _wife's_ neck, sliding over the collar of her school shirt and settling on the topmost button as though hoping it might pop open. She was looking at him with clear distaste, but her fingers trailed lightly along his jaw anyway, tilting the wizard's head up in an effort to keep him focused on her face.

Klaus watched raptly as she bent down just a little, whispering something in the man's ear, had to restrain every muscle in his body from ripping out the man's heart when he saw the growing bulge in his trousers from her touch. He could feel himself growing hard as well, though the thrall had no magical effect on him. He just wanted her to look at him like that, to _touch him_ like that.

He caught the scent of her growing wet, felt the surge of arousal through the bond, and that only made it more difficult to keep his head. The possibility that this man's proximity to her could be what was making her ache for touch wasn't a welcome thought. His jealousy was abated when she shot him a sideways look as she bent forward just a bit more, searching his face for just a moment before turning back to her prey, and he had to fight down a smirk.

So, his Caroline was a bit of an exhibitionist, was she?

His fingers twitched as he longed to give himself some relief, his breathing growing labored at the thought of what must be going through her mind. He wanted to tug her away and shove her skirt up her thighs to her waist, to fill her with his cock and make the other man watch, shaking with jealousy as Caroline moaned his name. He wanted to _claim_ her.

"Klaus?" she said sharply, jolting him out of his fantasy. She was standing in front of him with her arms crossed, the wizard still sitting with glazed eyes in the chair he was bound to. It was clear that it wasn't the first time she'd said his name, and from the purse of her lips and the acute stab of irritation through the bond she clearly had a _very_ good idea of where his mind had gone. She didn't comment though, just snapping out a city and a hotel before flouncing out the door, scarf and gloves forgotten.

Mikael's witch was just coming to his senses, and Klaus's lip curled when the pungent scent of the other man's release hit his nose. It only made the angry heat churn more, knowing that the witch had come from _his wife's_ touch, chaste as it was.

His death would be messy, he decided.

 **XXX**

It was abundantly clear that Klaus was attracted to her, or at least that voyeurism was something he got off on. It was slightly uncomfortable for the first few seconds even after she'd resolved to play along, but the high of his need for her through the bond once she'd let her powers go had been the best thing she'd felt all week. It gave her a rush of energy, of _satisfaction_ , but more importantly it gave her an idea of how to get through this alive.

She knew the bond was a tool to keep him from hurting her, but what if she turned it on its head? Sure, Klaus was as unlikeable as monsters came and was kind of a psychopath, but he had emotions and therefore weaknesses. She'd _felt_ how much he wanted her, the burn of jealousy and rage when she touched the wizard's cheek, the primal surge of pure want that she'd felt just after her pussy had started throbbing from the excitement of being watched.

She could capitalize on that desire for her. Sure, she'd have to be careful not to get too deep or to let her own feelings get entangled, but it was a solid plan for now until she could figure out a way to put him down and therefore break the bond.

He was hooked, and the key to her survival was right in front of her. The only way to guarantee her safety was to make Klaus Mikaelson fall in love with her.

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I hope you guys liked this chapter! I'm really hoping for some feedback because I feel like this one might have gone slightly off the rails and I'm not sure it accomplished what I wanted it to. Did Klaus and Caroline both feel IC? Did you like the interrogation scene? Did their banter work? Any favorite lines or parts? Predictions? Constructive criticism? I'm so excited to see what you guys think!


	5. Chapter 5

I'm on a roll with writing this story and it's immensely satisfying lol. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's a bit filler-y, but it'll set the scene for later ;)

Thank you to honestgrins for reassurance and cheerleading! This fic was written for coveredinthecolours. You should immediately go to their profiles and read every piece of glorious writing they have ever done.

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"Idiots," Klaus hissed, his fist connecting with the drywall with a sickening crunch, bones knitting back together as quickly as they cracked. "Useless bloody idiots, the lot of you."

"I'm sor—"

He heard one of his other hybrids hiss for the one who'd spoken to be quiet, but it was too late, his newest sire already motionless on the ground with a snapped neck. He would have liked to rip out the boy's heart, but he was running short on help, and even mediocre talkative hybrids were more useful than dead ones.

"Take him to the car," he barked at his other new sire, who nodded frantically and sped out with the body.

He could feel the rage building inside of him as he surveyed the near-spotless hotel room. The scent of a wolf still lingered, a sure sign Mikael's lapdog had cleared out less than an hour before. They'd barely missed him, it seemed.

The information Caroline had managed to gather from his prisoner was useless unless it led to results. His father was planning something, that much was clear, but as Klaus had already broken his curse, the only thing that could kill him was the white oak stake. After his little tiff with the Ripper and his idiot brother over the doppelganger he'd burned the tree and bridge down again and had ripped up the sappling by the roots and burned it too. His father would have very little luck tracking it down, if that's what he was after.

"Klaus?"

He snarled at the sire who interrupted his thoughts, stilling when he saw him pointing at the floor. "I think they might have left that behind."

Following the hybrid's line of vision, he saw a corner of a piece of paper sticking out from under the bed. He bent to pick it up, staring at the drawing for a few seconds, white-hot rage filling every inch of him once he recognized the map half-drawn on the page.

His father wasn't trying to find the white oak stake. He was trying to find the cure.

XXX

Caroline was in a mood.

She wasn't sure why, but everything was irritating her more than usual and she kept feeling random surges of anger. She'd already made three second-years cry when she took points from them for being noisy as Bonnie looked on with barely-concealed horror. Her friend's patience finally snapped when Caroline bit Luka's head off for taking the last biscuit even though the plate would refill moments later, her tone icy when she tugged Caroline aside in the front hall. "What is your problem?" Bonnie hissed, her eyes flashing, and Caroline frowned, about to let out a scathing retort before deflating.

"I don't know. I've just been really mad all day," she said, running her fingers through her hair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be mean."

"Well you were, so..."

Caroline winced at Bonnie's tone. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm just so angry."

"It's fine," Bonnie said slowly, her voice less irritated now as she eyed Caroline as though she were a bomb about to explode. She wasn't wrong to do it, Caroline realized when she felt another surge of rage.

That's when it clicked.

"That jerk," Caroline hissed, zipping open her bag and beginning to search for her compact, giving up and summoning it a second later with a wave of her wand.

"What jerk?"

"Klaus," Caroline said shortly, stuffing the mirror in her robes' pocket and readjusting the bag on her shoulder. "I need to call him and see what he's so pissed about."

Bonnie's eyes widened with understanding before her lips pursed. "Got it. Do you need emotional support?"

"Nope," Caroline said, inwardly cringing. She hadn't let Bonnie in the loop about the whole "seduce Klaus for safety" plan, and she didn't want her friend to get weirded out when she erred on the side of not being a raging bitch about Klaus being a raging bitch. She doubted Bonnie would approve. "Some good ol' fashioned haranguing should do it."

"If you say so," Bonnie muttered, clearly dubious.

Caroline shrugged helplessly, slipping into the nearest empty classroom and locking the door with a wave of her wand before flipping over the compact.

"Hummingbird."

She waited for more than a few seconds, almost ready to give up and close the compact again when Klaus's face appeared in the mirror. "Not a good time, love," he growled, and Caroline pushed down the spike of anger she felt meeting his eyes determinedly.

"Yeah, I can feel it, remember?"

A shadow of what might have been surprise crossed his face before she felt the anger ease a bit, enough for her to feel like she could breathe easily again. "Thanks."

"If that's all, I have to—"

"What's wrong?" she interrupted, and Klaus raised his eyebrows.

"That's none of your concern, sweetheart."

She brushed off the impulse to scold him for the petname, instead focusing on ferreting out the reason he was being such a dick.

"If you're going to send me into an intense rage all day I think I at least have the right to know why."

She could tell he wanted to argue but seemed to think better of it. "The enemy I was trying to find wasn't in the place I expected," he said evasively. "He left behind a piece of parchment with some notes that gave me a vague idea of what he's up to, but nothing more than that. It's possible I'll need to retain your...services later this week."

She wrinkled her nose at the way the word rolled off his tongue and didn't miss the twitch of his lips when he saw. "Got it."

His face was impassive and she didn't feel any new emotion through the bond, but she could tell she'd surprised him somehow. "I'll be in touch," he said, the connection abruptly cutting off a moment later.

Interesting.

XXX

"Are you sure we should be doing this? Don't you think he has detection spells or something?" Bonnie whispered as they walked down the corridor, trying to look as casual as possible.

"They're my quarters too and I'm allowed to have guests," Caroline pointed out, looking both directions to make sure no one else was in the hallway. It was early Sunday morning so she doubted they had much of a chance of being caught, but it was better not to take any chances. She gave the password and climbed through the portrait hole, looking around the room as she dusted off her jeans. She'd never been to the marriage quarters before. Klaus hadn't asked after the first brunch attempt after the ritual and she'd never bothered snooping when he wasn't there.

In retrospect, that had been a dumb decision.

The room they'd entered was just a smaller version of the common room, a fire crackling in the hearth with a couch and armchair closely situated beside it. It had no personal items in sight. There were three doors, and she and Bonnie exchanged a silent glance before Bonnie headed to the one by the fireplace, Caroline making her way to the door closer to the bookshelves. She opened it gently, unsurprised to see a bedroom. It was sparsely decorated, the only thing that looked to be non-school issued a large trunk by the foot of the bed.

Bingo.

"The other room's a painting studio," Bonnie whispered from behind her.

"If we don't find anything in here we should check it out," Caroline said, kneeling by the trunk to inspect it. It didn't open when she tried to lift the lid, not that she'd expected it to, but she didn't see a keyhole, just a gold plate without an engraving. "Alohamora," she cast, tapping the trunk. There wasn't a click, and the lid stayed put, even when she tried to tug it open again. "That's so weird."

"Let me try," Bonnie offered, bending to touch the trunk and yanking her hand back with a hiss.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Bonnie assured her, tapping her wand on her palm and shaking it slightly. "Why didn't it burn you?"

"Maybe because of the bond," Caroline suggested, leaning forward to brush her thumb over the front of the trunk and swearing when she felt the sharp prick of a needle against her skin, her eyes widening when she heard a click. "It must be blood-activated," she said, pulling the lid higher and leaning over the trunk to inspect the contents. There wasn't much—just an ancient-looking dagger and a jar full of what looked like dust, a few leather-bound books without titles, a vial of something that looked like molten silver with a crystal stopper, and a folded up piece of paper. Caroline reached for the paper, deciding it looked the most promising. She glanced at it, frowning at the sketch.

"Hurry up," Bonnie hissed, glancing over her shoulder. They could always come back if it wasn't what they needed.

"Gemino," she whispered, handing the copy of the paper to Bonnie, who stuffed it in her bag.

"Let's go," Caroline said, quickly rearranging the contents of the trunk to match how she found it and closing the lid.

Caroline's nervousness only subsided when they were a few corridors away from Klaus's quarters, and well out of the area of suspicion if Klaus were to return. "That was scary," Bonnie said, and Caroline nodded in agreement as she pulled out the paper she'd copied, staring at the sketch. It was a bunch of vines twisting together from a compass, ending abruptly about halfway up the page.

"Is that a drawing?"

"Yeah," Caroline said slowly, frowning down at the page. She knew Klaus sketched, but something about the lines of pencil to paper told her that he hadn't been the one to draw this. "Do you think it's just a doodle or something?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Bonnie said, jerking her head at the staircase at the end of of the corridor. "Library."

Caroline nodded, and they made their way up the winding staircase, taking a shortcut behind a fifth floor tapestry to avoid any early risers coming from the Thunderbirds' tower. The library was thankfully deserted other than the librarian, Madam Carpenter, who looked faintly surprised to see students up so early though she favored Bonnie with one of her rare smiles. "Early start on homework, Miss Bennett?"

Bonnie was practical to a degree that Caroline occasionally found almost annoying, and she wasn't the least bit surprised when her friend pulled the paper out of her bag and walked over, handing it to the librarian. "Do you know what this is?"

Madam Carpenter glanced at the paper and then gave Caroline a long look that made her shift in discomfort. She had to fight down the urge to ask why the librarian was looking at her like that, and luckily she spoke before Caroline caved to her impulse.

"From the rune at the center of the compass, I believe that it's an incomplete sketch of the Mark of Silas," she said, reaching to the large book that served as the library index and tapping it with her wand. The pages flipped so quickly that they were a blur before settling. "The books you need are in the section on magical cult history. Aisle 47. They won't have the mark of course, but it should give you some background at least."

"Thanks," Bonnie said, taking the paper back and turning on her heel to head into the stacks.

"Miss Forbes," Madam Carpenter said quietly before Caroline could follow, leaning forward with her hands folded. "I'm unsure as to how you found that, but I should warn you...Bond or not, Niklaus Mikaelson is dangerous."

"I know," Caroline said, trying her best not to sound too irritable. It wasn't like that life advice was useful at this point.

"He does not take betrayal lightly," the librarian continued. "There's a long history of him killing for less."

Caroline frowned. "What do you mean betrayal?"

"The sketch you brought is a map," she said patiently. "A map to a cure to vampirism. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that he has thousands of enemies who'd like nothing more than to see him dead, and that's the only way to kill him. If he knew you were looking it up..."

"I didn't know what it was," Caroline said quickly, the realization dawning on her that this could be her way out. If she cured him then he would be mortal. The bond would still exist, but he'd probably get killed off within days, leaving her free.

"Thanks for the warning," she said, waiting for the librarian's nod before turning to find Bonnie in the stacks.

She did admittedly feel a little bit bad for hoping Klaus would get unceremoniously murdered, but she was pretty sure that it was just because she was a good person. Klaus was basically the living (undead?) incarnation of evil. He'd taken away all of her choices, her opportunities for regular dating and a normal life, and she deserved better. He'd done absolutely nothing to give her any reason to let him have leaway.

She couldn't hurt him because of the bond, but this was technically curing him, right?

The only problem was how to find the cure, she realized, her thoughts racing as she considered her options. She doubted that she could get away to wherever it was without Klaus finding out, and she wasn't about to let Bonnie go anywhere near it. She could contact whoever this Mikael guy was, but he might get the wrong idea and think she was on Klaus's side and try to use her as leverage.

Unfortunately, the best idea for now would probably be to wait it out and hope his enemy was competent enough to execute the plan. Her original idea to get Klaus to fall in love with her was still a good back-up, and she should continue with it just in case, especially since he might eventually trust her enough that she could get the cure herself. She just needed a good opportunity.

Hopefully she'd be able to talk Bonnie into leaving it alone.

* * *

I hope you liked this chapter! Thank you so much for reading. Any predictions? Feedback? Please let me know. Reviews keep me inspired and help me know what sort of content you want.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the wait. I know it's been a loooongggg time. Thank you to Kelly for beta work and for listening to me whine. I hope you guys like where this story is going.

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"I beg your pardon?" Klaus murmured. He could feel his fangs breaking through his gums and made no effort to restrain them, staring his trembling hybrid down.

"All of the books about Silas are checked out," the hybrid repeated, and Klaus clenched his fists for a moment before letting them relax. Not that he'd admit it, but it was his fault. Ilvermorny had one of the best research libraries in the world open to the public, only trailing behind the magical underground sections of the Library of Celsus and of Alexandria. As soon as he'd figured out that the cure was Mikael's plan, he'd ordered them to be found, but it seemed he'd been too late.

The possibility that Mikael or one of his minions had found a way into the castle despite his conversation with the headmistress was both alarming and enraging. He'd thought that he'd been clear, but perhaps a reminder was in order. The only reason no one had died yet was because if he managed to make things more difficult for Caroline at school she'd be rather miffed. Curating her feelings for him was an essential part of his plan, and murdering or punishing people Caroline loved before he secured her affections would set him back.

He rapped his fingers against the armrest of his chair, considering his options. Mikael's minions checking out the books wasn't entirely a disaster. Klaus had looked through them all himself and he doubted they'd tell Mikael anything he didn't already know. All it meant was that Mikael had caught on to Klaus's plan to find the cure, and that wasn't exactly news.

The most pressing problem was the possibility of Mikael finding out about Caroline. He wasn't stupid enough to think that Klaus cared for her, but he would most likely catch on very quickly to Caroline's powers and from there put together how he planned to use her. The added complication of Caroline not being the most willing of Klaus's subjects would give him an opportunity to attempt to sway her to his side.

"I have some other news," the hybrid continued cautiously.

"Not now," Klaus bit out, still trying to figure out his next steps.

Caroline was both clever and ruthless, that much he already knew, and having her armed with the cure could be dangerous, indeed. She'd clung to her stubbornness well so far, but cultivating her loyalty before she had the chance to be tempted to assist his enemies was of the utmost importance to his plan. Though he was determined to keep the existence of the vampirism cure from her as long as possible, there was always the chance that she'd somehow find out, whether it was from an enemy trying to plant the seeds of betrayal or her obvious tendency to meddle when curious. He couldn't have her realize that the cure could be her ticket out of the bond until he was sure that he'd secured her allegiance.

He'd known Machiavelli personally, and the man was an idiot. Only the weakest rulers sought to terrorize their subjects, inevitably ending with their heads on pikes after the masses rebelled. No, unhealthy amounts of one-sided adoration in one's followers produced unwavering loyalty, whereas those who were fearful were the first to look for an escape route.

Love was a weakness. It ruined the most strategically laid plans with illogical made-up obstacles one could easily pass through if not for inconvenient attachments. He'd never be fool enough to fall into such a trap. But a seventeen year old girl who'd grown up on fairytales and longed to be whisked away from a gilded cage?

All he had to do was figure out what pretty words and grand gestures she would need to make her soften to his entirely fake but well-played attentions.

"Come with me," Klaus ordered, already walking to his mansion's study where the floo powder was as he revised his plan.

Keeping her close would make tracking her easier, and forced proximity gave him a larger opening to assuage her fears and gain her affection. Moving her into their chambers would be most convenient, but he had a feeling that the suggestion would frighten her if he didn't make it sound like the most sensible option. She'd think he was trying to coerce her into spending time with him, and that would ruin any meager strands of good will he'd managed to build with her. Luckily, she at least seemed to have a good sense of self-preservation, and playing up that she might be in danger would likely make her more willing to relocate. He'd just have to be sure to frame the suggestion correctly.

His hybrid hurried after him without question, following him through the fireplace connection from Klaus's mansion to his and Caroline's quarters. They made their way to the Horned Serpent tower and he gave the password to the statue guarding the entrance. It moved aside to let him through and he went up the stairs to the prefects' single rooms, murmuring to his hybrid to stay put before slipping inside.

She was asleep, the covers pulled around her shoulders, hair splayed on the pillow. He was tempted to take a curl between his fingers and see if it was as soft as it looked.

"Caroline, sweetheart," he murmured instead, watching as she stirred, blinking slowly.

"Hmm?" She kicked her comforter down to her ankles as she stared up at him sleepily, her arm twitching as though she was tempted to reach for him, and he was unable to resist letting his eyes linger on the hem of her sleep shorts. Her eyes cleared suddenly, her posture stiffening. "What are you doing here? I thought we talked about knocking."

"It has come to my attention that you're not safe here," he said, trying to keep his tone mild and unintimidating. "I received news a few minutes ago and came immediately to check on your well being."

"In the middle of the night? I have school," she complained, reaching down to pull her comforter back up, clearly fully intending to ignore him. "Get out."

"I'm afraid I can't, actually. You're not safe here."

"Why do you care?" she asked grumpily, shifting on the mattress. "I'm just _the help_ , remember?"

He inwardly winced at the pulse of annoyance through the bond. "Help integral to my plan," he pointed out, trying to stay calm. "One of my contacts told me that the books in the library related to Mikael's plan had been looked up and taken off shelves. If they know, they could use you as—"

Caroline groaned. "That was me," she said, pulling the covers up to her chin. "Go back to bed."

He felt rage build in his chest, knew his eyes were flashing gold. "And how, exactly, did you find out to look at those books?" he asked, his voice soft.

She didn't seem all that threatened or regretful, more triumphant if anything.

"You were being a secretive weirdo and your trunk has a blood lock. It wasn't hard. Let me sleep."

His mind was racing, already reevaluating his plans. The possibility that someone could take blood from her to use against him for a ritual was alarming, though he admittedly should have anticipated it. "Clever. You've not told anyone, have you?"

"No. Why?"

"Because it means your blood is even more valuable," he said sharply. "I'll give you a choice: pack your things and move to the quarters where you're secure, or I'll find a trusted hybrid to guard you."

She bristled. "A spy, you mean?"

"To protect you."

"But you just said it was because of the books and I'm the one with the books," she pointed out sleepily, squeezing her eyes shut as though it would make him go away.

"Yes, making it even more important to keep an eye on you," he growled, his patience running thin, tacking on "for your safety," in a way he knew was utterly unbelievable.

She seemed to weigh her options, her tongue darting over her lower lip. "If I move then I won't have someone shadowing me, right?"

"Not when you're in our quarters, as long as you don't give anyone the password."

"Fine. I'll move. Can you go now?"

"We need to pack _now_ , Caroline," he said softly, his tone dangerous.

She shoved the covers away and pulled down the hem of her top where it had crawled up her stomach, grabbing her wand from her side table and waving it at her bedside light to turn it on. "Fine, but I don't need help."

"I'll take the books and leave you to it, then," he said, making an effort to keep his tone as unthreatening as possible.

She rolled her eyes, gesturing to a pile of neatly-stacked books by her school bag, her school supplies already flying inside her trunk to arrange themselves in neat rows. "Over there. I read all the Silas parts last night anyway."

He rifled through the pile to find the relevant tomes and picked them up, tucking them under his arm and ducking a cosmetic potion's bottle as it whizzed over his head. "I'll be just outside to help you carry your things."

She ignored him as he left, though her door closed behind him with a bit more force than necessary. He waited impatiently as he heard the thunks and scrapes of things packing themselves into Caroline's trunk, half-listening to his hybrid's update on Elijah's progress locating a coven that had links to the traveler witches, which had been the other news the boy had been trying to give him. He'd already gotten a text from his brother earlier that evening, but a second rendition wasn't a bad thing in case he'd missed something.

Caroline emerged after what felt like much too long, her hair gathered into a messy knot at the top of her head, her legs sadly much more covered than they had been when he'd barged in.

His hybrid took Caroline's trunk and they walked in silence. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed her rubbing her palms on her arms in an attempt to fend off the castle's winter chill. He'd almost forgotten that she was so fragile, that her survival depended on things as insignificant to him as temperature and comfort. Though Esther had certainly been in the running for worst mother in the history of humanity, she had taught him basic manners, and if he was going to lure Caroline in, he'd have to manufacture a softer side for her, make her believe that he cared for her.

"Don't you dare," she hissed as he began to shrug off his jacket, making him grin.

"You sure, love?"

"Yep," she said shortly, pulling her wand out of her robe pocket and waving it, likely casting a non-verbal warming charm. She was beautifully stubborn, and he was tempted to push all of the buttons he could find, to make her bristle and watch her cheeks flush with annoyance.

He managed to restrain himself, lingering a step or two behind her as she stalked towards the hummingbird portrait on the other side of the castle, close enough to make his presence known but far enough away that she wouldn't feel cornered. After she spat out the password he went through the entrance first, landing smoothly on his feet. She ignored his offered arm when she clambered through after him, though she automatically reached for him when she landed unevenly on the carpet.

"All right, love?" Klaus asked softly.

"Fine," she said, wrenching her arm away from him, making him miss the soft skin that had been beneath his fingers. "Where's my room?"

"I thought you'd been here before."

"I mean, yeah, but all I saw was an art studio and a bedroom and obviously I'm not sharing a bed with you."

"Whyever not?" he asked, mostly to see her eyes flash with annoyance, fairly confident that she would be comfortable enough at least to know that he wasn't _that_ kind of monster.

"Don't. Seriously."

"Not to worry, love. I have no intention of forcing you into my bed. The day you finally admit that you crave my touch will be entirely of your choosing."

She rolled her eyes. "Not going to happen, but everyone should be allowed to have their unachievable hopes and dreams. So, room?"

"I've never slept in the bedroom, so you're welcome to it. I've already moved the trunk to make room for your things."

"Great!"

There was something off, he realized as he followed her to linger in the doorway, watching her direct the hybrid on where to put the trunk. She was being too accommodating. Still easily riled and clearly convincing herself that she had no interest in being in his presence, but for some reason following his directions.

That didn't add up at all.

She stiffened when she caught sight of him in the reflection of the window. "What?"

"I must admit, I expected more resistance on your part."

She seemed to consider the implied question, shifting her weight before turning away to charm the curtains do a different color, wrinkling her nose at the sky blue before waving her wand again to make them a rich navy. "I'm apparently important to your dastardly plot, so you want me alive. That means if you think I'm in danger enough to make me move then there must be a reason."

Her admission rang false to him, but he couldn't figure out why. It was a logical thought process for her to have, and if his instincts weren't blaring at him to dig deeper he would have accepted the answer. He wanted to press more, to unravel the mystery of how her mind worked, but she was already coming towards him, clearly intent on shooing him out. He doubted he'd get much out of her when she was still tired and irritable, but he'd put a pin in it for later.

"Goodnight, Caroline."

 **XXX**

"And you just _went_?" Bonnie interrupted, nearly flashing her cards at Caroline as she threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Okay, in my defense, I have a plan."

"Is it a _good_ plan?"

Caroline huffed. "Look, obviously whoever Klaus is trying to find is looking for the cure to vampirism. I doubt Klaus actually wants that for himself since he likes being a freak of nature so much, but he's paranoid as hell, so he probably thinks that whoever it is wants to cure him and that's why he's trying to find it first. Right?"

"Makes sense," Bonnie said slowly, drawing a card and exchanging it with one in her hand and discarding it, grinning at Caroline's groan when she laid her hand down on her dorm room floor. "Gin."

"This is a dumb game," Caroline grumbled, grabbing her parchment and quill to tally up the points as Bonnie gathered up the cards to shuffle themselves.

"You'd think it was fun if you were winning."

"I'm not a sore loser," Caroline said defensively. "I just...like winning."

"Yeah, okay."

" _Anyway_ , I think my best bet is to wait out whoever he's freaking out about and hope they get the cure first."

"What if they don't?" Bonnie asked as she redealt.

Caroline chewed her lip, trying to find a way to explain it that didn't make it sound absolutely bonkers. "Well, I was thinking...Look, Klaus is going to be really paranoid now that we checked the books out of the library, and if he gets the cure first he'll just destroy it and then I'll be stuck with him for the rest of my life."

"Yeah. That's my point."

"Thanks," Caroline said dryly, organizing her hand by suit. "My plan is basically to make him trust me so that if he finds the cure first I'll have access to it and I can use it on him myself."

"To cure him yourself?"

"Yeah, because then he'd be human and all killable and stuff. His enemies would go after him and I'd be free to live my best Klaus-free life."

Bonnie looked concerned, possibly even alarmed, which had not been what Caroline was going for at all.

"So you moved in with him to betray him? Caroline, he's dangerous! What if he finds out?"

"He won't!" Caroline reassured Bonnie with all the confidence she didn't feel. "I'll act like I care about his tragic origin story and make him think that I'm one of his trusty minions. I'll be able to track how he feels about me through the bond. Best-case-scenario I can even get him to like me."

"Okay, but what if it backfires?"

"Backfires?"

"Yeah. What if you get stockholm syndrome and chicken out?"

"Wow, Bon. Even my taste in boys isn't _that_ bad."

"That's not what I mean," Bonnie said impatiently. "Well, actually, yes your taste is that bad–"

"Hey!"

"–But my point was that Klaus has spent a thousand years becoming a master manipulator. My grams told me that he used to seduce princesses for fun and make them write love letters to him before he ate them for dinner."

"Ew."

"Yeah, so clearly he can be charming when he wants to be. And doesn't your veela bond heighten emotional connection?"

Caroline nearly groaned. Did she have to explain this to everyone every time? "Yes, but it's _all_ emotions. Hate and anger are also feelings."

"Right, but isn't the point for him to think you're into him? Doesn't that mean you can't send hatred over it?"

"It'll be fine," Caroline said firmly, needing to believe it.

Bonnie looked unconvinced but she didn't press, instead drawing a card and discarding it. "If you're sure, Care. I trust you."

Caroline tried not to wince. She wanted to be sure. So, _so_ badly. But even as much as she hoped that it would work out and she could catch him by surprise and free herself, she wasn't sure that her dumb veela instincts wouldn't get in the way. She was scared that she'd give him openings to slip through the cracks of the armor she'd so carefully built, and she knew if she did he wouldn't hesitate to take advantage.

"To be fair, him being all hot and dimply is not helpful, but I'll find a way to power through."

"Well, if you need me I'm always here," Bonnie said slowly, exchanging one of her cards and reorganizing her hand. "Whether it's to talk or bury bodies. Okay?"

"Thanks, Bon. Hopefully no bodies will need burying."

"Actually, if you want to spend some quality time with Klaus, I'm sure he could teach you some body-burying techniques. He seems like one of those guys who thinks dates are supposed to be them teaching classes on their hobbies," Bonnie said, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

"As much as I'd love to have grave-digging mansplained to me, I'm hoping to not have to spend too much time getting my hands dirty."

"Yeah, you're kind of an indoor cat," Bonnie said solemnly, grinning at Caroline's groan. "What? You refused to go camping with my family."

"Camping with no magic is disgusting. You get all gross and sticky with things that you're not supposed to be sticky with."

"You're a veela! You're basically magically well-groomed all the time."

"No, I can charm people into ignoring that I'm gross. There's a difference."

"If you say so."

"Ugh. Maybe my and Klaus's first date can be burying _your_ body."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Any thoughts? Do you like the Baroline friendship? Do you think the build of KC is working? Any predictions? Favorite lines or pieces of dialogue? Your feedback and reviews are what keep me writing, so please let me know what you think!


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